de·vour

[dih-vou-uhr, -vou-er]
verb (used with object)
1.
to swallow or eat up hungrily, voraciously, or ravenously.
2.
to consume destructively, recklessly, or wantonly: Fire devoured the old museum.
3.
to engulf or swallow up.
4.
to take in greedily with the senses or intellect: to devour the works of Freud.
5.
to absorb or engross wholly: a mind devoured by fears.

Origin:
1275–1325; Middle English devouren < Anglo-French, Old French devourer < Latin dēvorāre to swallow down, equivalent to dē- de- + vorāre to eat up

de·vour·er, noun
de·vour·ing·ly, adverb
de·vour·ing·ness, noun
in·ter·de·vour, verb (used with object)
pre·de·vour, verb (used with object)
re·de·vour, verb (used with object)
self-de·vour·ing, adjective
un·de·voured, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To devouring
00:10
Devouring is always a great word to know.
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
Collins
World English Dictionary
devour (dɪˈvaʊə) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
vb
1.  to swallow or eat up greedily or voraciously
2.  to waste or destroy; consume: the flames devoured the curtains
3.  to consume greedily or avidly with the senses or mind: he devoured the manuscripts
4.  to engulf or absorb: the flood devoured the land
 
[C14: from Old French devourer, from Latin dēvorāre to gulp down, from de- + vorāre to consume greedily; see voracious]
 
de'vourer
 
n
 
de'vouring
 
adj
 
de'vouringly
 
adv

devour (dɪˈvaʊə) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
vb
1.  to swallow or eat up greedily or voraciously
2.  to waste or destroy; consume: the flames devoured the curtains
3.  to consume greedily or avidly with the senses or mind: he devoured the manuscripts
4.  to engulf or absorb: the flood devoured the land
 
[C14: from Old French devourer, from Latin dēvorāre to gulp down, from de- + vorāre to consume greedily; see voracious]
 
de'vourer
 
n
 
de'vouring
 
adj
 
de'vouringly
 
adv

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

devour
early 14c., from O.Fr. devorer, from L. devorare "swallow down," from de- "down" + vorare "swallow" (see voracious).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Example sentences
And you know things are dire when people optimistically greet the discovery
  that meat-eating ants are devouring the toads.
Little is left to the imagination in this sequence and one even has to listen
  to the sound of the flames devouring the machine.
Since early in human history, people have attempted to prevent rodents and
  insects from devouring their collections.
Every few minutes a fir ignites, flames devouring it in a rush of light, the
  roar of rockets.
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